Hat-fastener



(No Model.)

J. W. PILKINGTON.

' HAT FASTENER. I A I No. 421,758. Patented Feb. 18.1890.

UNITED Srrvrns PATENT OFFIcE.

JOSEPH \V. PILKINGTON, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

HAT-FASTENER. v

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 421,758, dated February 18, 1890.

Application filed July 3, 1886. Serial No. 20?.017. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. PILKINGTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat-Fasteners and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide a device for fastening ladies? hats upon the head which shall be of slight cost, easy to manage, applicable to all classes of hats, and which maybe readily changed from one hat to another. The method of fastening hats upon the head most commonly adopted by ladies is to stick a long pin through the hat and into the hair. This, however, is ruinous both to felt and straw hats, as the portion of the hat through which the pin is stuck quickly becomes full of pin-holes, which spoil the appearance of the hat and sometimes entirely destroy it for use. The most serious inconvenience of all, however, is that the pin is entirely separate from the hat, so that when the hat is taken off it is commonly considered necessary to stick the pin back into it, otherwise the pins are usually missingwhen wanted.

In order to overcome these objections I have devised a novel hat-fastener which may be readily attached to any hat or transferred from one hat to another, which will not injure any hat in the slightest, and in which the pin shall not be detachable unless the entire fastener is removed.

I will now describe my novel fastener, referring by numbers to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a view of a ladys hat, showing the manner in which my invention is applied;

' Fig. 2, a view, on an enlarged scale, of the fast- 4. is a securing-plate having a central opening 5 and 'two or more prongs 6, secured to its inner side or made integral therewith. The manner in which this plate is made is not of the essence of my invention. The plate and prongs may be struck up from a single piece of metal, or the prongs may be made separately and attached to the plate afterward.

The style of pin used is amatter that may be varied to an almost unlimited extent. In Fig. 2 I have shown the pin as provided with an ordinary flattened spear-point, and in Fig. 3 as provided with a large rounded barb. It is of course essential that the point shall be made large enough to prevent the point from slipping out of the plate, and a large point is also an assistance in holding the hat in place.

It is, however, essential that the. point shall be rounded in such a manner that it will not catch and hold the hair.

In assembling, the shank of the pin is I passed through the opening in the plate,with the prongs standing in the direction of the point, and the head is. then attached at the opposite end of the shank. Ordinary black heads may be used, or any ornamental metallic heads, if desired; or, if preferred, the head may be made integral with the shank and the point separate and attached afterward. These I consider mere details of construction which are wholly within the province of any manufacturer. .7

In attaching the fastener to a hat it is sim ply necessary to make a hole through the hat large enough to permit the point of the pin and the prongs of the plate to be forced through it. The prongs are then bent out ward on the inside of the hat in the manner indicated in Fig. 6.

The manner of using can hardly require explanation, it being the same as when ordinary long pins are used, the only difference being that in my improved fastener the pin cannot be detached from the plate and that pins with large points hold muchbetter than'ordinary pins. Two pins, one on each side, may be used, if desired, but one will ordinarilybe found quite sufficient.

It will of course be apparent that my novel fastener can be removed at any time by simply bending the prongs out straight and draw ing it out. The mark left in an ordinary hat will hardly be noticeable, as there will be very much less damage done to the hat than is done by sticking an ordinary pin through it a dozen or two times in different places, which quickly happens where ordinary pins are used as fasteners, whether the hat be made of felt or straw.

I do not, of course, desire to limit myself to the exact construction shown, as it is obvious that the details may be widely varied without departing from the spirit of my invention. In practice I sometimes use a pin with a double shank and sometimes with a flat shank, which it is not deemed necessary to illustrate. I preferably, however, use a pin with a single round shank, as shown.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A hat-fastener consisting of a plate having an opening through it and a pin passing through said opening and having an 011- larged head and point.

2. Ahat-fastenerconsisting, essentially, of a plate having an opening through it, and prongs whereby it may be attached, and a pin passing through said opening and having an enlarged head and point.

A plate having an opening through it and prongs whereby it may be attached in place, in combination with a pin passing loosely through the opening, an enlarged point at one end, and an enlarged head at the other end, whereby the pin may be used to hold a hat in place, but is not detachable from the plate.

l. Plate 4:, having opening 5 and prongs 6, in combination with a pin passing through said opening, an enlarged spear-point 2 at one end of the pin, and an enlarged head 3 at the other end.

In testimony whereof I al'iix my signatu re in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH \V. PILKINGTON.

Witnesses:

A. M. Woos'rEB, C. E. RUGGLES. 

